Rob Nelson, co-head of Rockstar North, speaking with TroisCouleurs, said that the company feared Red Dead Redemption 2 could bore players because there was only one protagonist available.
The move from Grand Theft Auto 5 to Red Dead Redemption 2 represented an important change in the way stories were built: the fifth chapter of the GTA series had focused on three different protagonists, although they were connected to each other, while the western adventure chose a much more linear path, putting only Arthur Morgan at the center of the entire story. However, this last decision had raised some doubts inside the studio at the time.
Rockstar Feared Red Dead Redemption 2 Would Bore Players With Just One Protagonist
Nelson explained that Rockstar tends to use its previous games as a starting point to understand how to improve its next productions, and after trying the three-protagonist approach in GTA 5, it found itself in a very different situation with Red Dead Redemption 2.
“We always look back at the last games and think about how to evolve on them and move them forward. And so, with GTA 5 with three protagonists that were connected but individual in their own way, and then going to Red Dead Redemption 2, which was obviously Arthur’s story, we were slightly nervous people were going to be bored with just one protagonist,” he said, also mentioning questions from some players who wondered whether it would be possible to control other members of Arthur’s gang.
In the end, however, those fears proved to be unfounded because Red Dead Redemption 2 became one of the most successful titles in the history of Rockstar Games.
